​ Not all Indigenous people are considered American Indians. Members of recognized tribes are legally considered American Indians. Being an American Indian is a legal term that came about in the 1930’s. So, when we say American Indian, we’re only talking about someone from a recognized tribe with associated benefits.

It's important to acknowledge the diversity of Indigenous Peoples' cultures, traditions, and languages throughout the Western Hemisphere. When talking about a particular tribe or nation, learning, and using accurate terms specific to the community can prevent stereotypes and encourage cultural understanding and sensitivity among others.

American Indian, Indian, Native American,  or Native are acceptable and often used interchangeably in the United States; however, Native Peoples often have individual preferences on how they would like to be addressed. 

However, some indigenous people reject this term because, again, white people assigned it to them, according to Crystal Raypole’s March 2021  Healthline article . Instead, they prefer to identify as Indian or American Indian.

According to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian,  both terms are acceptable.

“The consensus, however, is that whenever possible, Native people prefer to be called by their specific tribal name. In the United States, Native American has been widely used but is falling out of favor with some groups, and the terms American Indian or indigenous American are preferred by many Native people.”

• ​State recognition does not confer benefits under federal law unless federal law authorizes such benefits, as is the case for state recognized tribes under ANA’s Native American Programs Act (NAPA).

•  According to a 2013 listing of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), there are sixteen states that have recognized Indian tribes (i.e., Native American groups with self-government authority) outside of the federal processes—Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. 

Federal Register

Tribal associations are listed as "by Blood," "Intermarriage," or "Freedmen." Intermarriage means the person was married to a citizen of the tribe. You may also see "IW" for intermarried white, or "A" for adopted. Freedmen are individuals who were formerly enslaved by one the Five Tribes. The term is also used to describe their descendants. Although there was intermarriage between Blacks and Indians, the Dawes Commission enrolled people of mixed heritage as Freedmen, and indicated no blood relation to the tribal nation.

• Freedmen received 40 acres each, so if you had a family of 7 that would equal 280 acres of land.
• If a person was on the Blood Roll they would receive 320 acres vs the 40 acres of someone not on the Blood Roll.   

The "Five Civilized Tribes": Cherokee, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles. 

Those found eligible for the Final Rolls were entitled to an allotment of land, usually as a homestead.

The Roll contain more than 101,000names from 1898-1914 (primarily from 1899-1906). They can be searched to discover the enrollee's name, sex, blood degree, and census card number. The census card may provide additional genealogical information, and may also contain reference to earlier rolls, such as the 1880 Cherokee census. A census card was generally accompanied by an "application jacket". The Jacket then sometimes contain valuable supporting documentation, such as birth and death affidavits, marriage licenses, and correspondence.

Today these five tribes continue to use the Dawes Rolls as the basis for determining tribal membership. They usually require applications to provide proof of descent from a person who is listed on these rolls. 

Before you can effectively use the online index to find a person in the Final Rolls, you need to know:

•  Your ancestor's name 
• The name of the person's tribe.
• If you do know the individual's name and their tribe : Proceed to Step 2
• If you don't know the person's tribe: you can look for clues in the 1900 Census

For those Indians living in predominantly India area, there were special Indian schedules in the 1900 Census identifying one's tribe and parent's tribes. For those Indians living among the general population, only one's color or race was designated, such as In dian or white, etc. 

Note: For the 1900 Census, start with the Soundex Index. You may first want to read background on the Soundex indexing system.

If your ancestor's tribe is not identified in the 1900 Census, once you find where your ancestor was living, you can consult books such as The Indian Tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton, for information on the tribes living in each state. Other good sources are A Guide to Indian Tribes of Oklahoma, by Muriel H. Wright, and The Indians of Texas, by W.W. Newcomb, Jr., for tribes in those areas.

Locating information on Dawes Rolls, Enrollment Cards, Application Jackets and Land Allotment Records on Ancestry.com, Fold3, FamilySearch.org and additional sites.

Records for Application Jacket, Land Allotment and Enrollment Card​​

Eastern Cherokee Application Denial Response for Claims

Example​​  

• ​Doubtful — They will have a Census (Enrollment) Card. Application required further documents.  Names may or may not appear on the Final Roll depending if they were accepted or rejected. Dawes Roll contact the tribe, If not on the Final Dawes Roll, See  Guion Miller Roll
• Rejected/Cancelled — The Commission rejected nearly two-thirds of the applications. Names will not appear on the Final Roll, but they will have a Census (Enrollment) Card. If Rejected, See  Guion Miller Roll
• Overturned — Applications for citizenship under the Act of 1896 were overturned. Only those that reapplied and were accepted will be found on the Final Roll. If they  did not reapply, 

The Guion Miller Roll is a list of Eastern Cherokee who applied for compensation resulting from a 1906 lawsuit. Those who applied were descendants of a person that had been included in the forced removal to Indian Territory and not affiliated with any other tribe other than the Cherokee. 

• Find your ancestor on the Guion Miller Roll Index and record the application number through one of the following methods:   

    1) Ancestry.com or Fold3.com        

    2) Microfilm: M-685 (index is on roll #1).                                   

    3) Books: 

• • Cherokee by Blood: Records of Eastern Cherokee ancestry in the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1910 by Jerry Wright Jordan (973.0049755 J764) 
  • Guion Miller roll “plus” of Eastern Cherokee, east & west of Mississippi “1909” by Bob Blankenship (970.004975 B611 2nd) (includes both accepted and rejected) 

• Find the Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909 through one of the following methods: 

• •  Database: Fold3 (listed alphabetically) 
  •   Microfilm: M-1104 If you are a direct lineal descendant, contact the tribe for registration application and requirements.  If No , see the book Cherokee Roots by Bob Blankenship (970.3 B611)  to see if your ancestor was listed on another roll. If Yes, your ancestor may be Cherokee, but you may not qualify for tribal membership. They  may have belonged to another tribe, they may have chosen not to be recognized as a Native American, or they may not have been Native American.

Source: Midwest Genealogy Center, Mid-Continent Public Library 

The Indian-Pioneer Papers oral history collection spans from 1861 to 1936. It includes typescripts of interviews conducted during the 1930s by government workers with thousands of Oklahomans regarding the settlement of Oklahoma and Indian territories, as well as the condition and conduct of life there. Consisting of approximately 80,000 entries, the index to this collection may be accessed via personal name, place name, or subject.

Indian-Pioneer Paper Collection